Friday, December 14, 2007

common refrain

"...and i heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, 'merry christmas to all and to all a good night.'" i have been noticing the same music being played by many of the folks i run into- on the internets and in 'real life'- and it's- not feeling the magic this year. haven't started shopping or cooking or baking or decorating yet. my response is- why bother? now, i am not a humbug. trust me- non christian or no- i love this time of year. i love the whole 'season'- from the feasting at t-giving to the feasting at cmas- i am there. i usually put the ole music on and cook and bake and thoroughly enjoy myself. not so much this year. so- with a h/t to dez and her post at the sirens- here are my thoughts on cmas:

stop! just stop it. stop buying into the consumerism and the falsehoods that we need to have 100 presents per person. just stop buying. we all talk about our memories of tight cmases in the past- with charlie brown trees and how our parents scrimped to get us a special gift- often going without themselves and us not knowing it. we talk about the food and the joy and the weather- and the food and have a great time reminiscing. so- why is there such a fucking disconnect? just because many of us aren't scrimping and scraping like our folks did- or maybe we are- why should we treat our kids and family any differently? why should they miss out on happy memories and get bought off? isn't that really what we are doing? well, we don't want to put the effort into making a clark griswold good ole fashioned family cmas- so we'll buy you a 100 things to compensate. wouldn't that money not be better spent on a trip to extended family or bringing them to you? or wouldn't that money be better spent on memory makers? instead of working longer hours to make more money for the holidays- taking a day off to make cookies with your kids? it doesn't make sense to me. why sit there and bemoan the holidays year after year- why not change them? take a moment to dust off your old memories and think about why you loved the season way back when- and try to make it about more than the gifts for your loved ones. the celebrations were not put in place as a sort of penance or obligation- they were put in place to celebrate the season. if you don't want to celebrate- then don't. that's ok too. many folks don't have a whole lot to celebrate this year- and really- why force it?

too many folks aren't realizing that you don't have to celebrate cmas. buddhists don't. jews don't. muslims don't. athiests don't. hindus don't. you get the point. give yourself permission to do as little or as much as you want. it's freeing and less stressful. stop! being a slave. take your own life back.

5 comments:

Intrepidflame said...

Check out the latest video on my blog...Happy Holidays and Peace be with you...Remember what all of our work is about....

proudprogressive said...

Amen sister on taking one's life back , its so important, not to get overwelmed or swept up in "stuff" in fact, i try to focus on what is needed and mostly what others need, as i am fine. great reminder to us Betmo, as the social conditioning affects us all, stuff does not equal love. One rule i live by, is that everyday ought to be a day of generousity if possible. The season is nice, of course - and its time to think of those with less, and in dier need of necessities. Nothing makes me happier than when a friend might give to good charity in my name. Also with our sustainability movement, it would be nice to value , the gently used items. Second hand cool or needed stuff. We need to re use, recycle and value that in my opinion. Starve the corporations - and feed our spirits. great post.

jmsjoin said...

You know Betmo, I am full of the spirit. We have one radio turned to Xmas music all day. plenty of snow, love it! Christmas has nothing to do with Presants to me. Never got them as a kid and I have no need for them. Christmas is in your heart and nothing can take that away!

Larry said...

Doing Christmas for the daughter is makes her happy, but I'd be content with a meal and seeing a few that we are close to and just enjoyn having the time off.

Daniel said...

Hey, Betmo, nice post! Though an atheist, I love Xmas. It reminds me of my childhood, the excitement, the not being able to sleep, the thought of reindeers and sleighs and chimneys.

We never got many presents and those that we did cost very little but they really meant a lot! Xmas was special.

Take care!